


Stupid Jealousy

by genericfanatic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, College AU, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 00:41:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7663456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genericfanatic/pseuds/genericfanatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance is jealous, Keith thinks of a way to make him not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stupid Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> a) they're all in college and are friends  
> b) they've been dating maybe a month or two

“Something’s bugging you,” Keith said, frowning at his boyfriend. He wasn’t particularly good at reading people, but some were easier than others. Lance, thankfully, wore his emotions on his sleeve, which had always made Keith’s life easier. If Lance wasn’t smiling, something was wrong. 

Lance shrugged and leaned back on his bed. “It’s nothing,” He said, looking off into the difference. 

Keith rolled over to lean over him, frowning down at him. “Don’t give me that. Something’s wrong and you’re not telling me.”

Lance smirked up at him, but it was a poor replication of his usual grin. “It’s…you’ll think I’m being stupid.”

“Yeah, I think that anyway.” Keith said, “But whatever it is, it’s bothering you, so you may as well tell me.”

Lance sighed. “I was thinking about the dinner we had last weekend.” 

Keith raised an eyebrow, trying to remember what happened. They and their friend group (Shiro, Allura, Coran, Pidge, and Hunk) all had gone out for dinner. They went out often enough, although it was rare they managed to get all of them together at once. Still, Keith couldn’t remember anything particularly significant happening. “What about it?”

Lance bit his lip. “When…when we were going over the menu, you kept looking to Shiro for things you would like and wouldn’t like.”

Keith shrugged, “Menus use weird words for spices that I can never remember. Shiro knows what they are.”

Lance smirks, “He knows your tastes better than you do. Certainly better than I do. And I’m your boyfriend.”

Keith was getting more confused, “I’ve…I’ve known Shiro a long time. Where are you going with this?”

“So,” Lance leaned up on his elbows, “I should be the one who knows stuff about you. I mean, you know everything about me.” 

Keith snorted, “That’s because you never shut up about yourself.” Lance rolled his eyes, “C’mon, Lance. I’m a private person, you know that. You know more about me than most people do.”

“Not as much as Shiro.” Lance looked down, away from Keith.

Keith tried to study his face, looking for clues. “Are you--” He asked, unsure, “are you jealous of Shiro?”

Lance lay back on the bed. “You used to have a crush on him, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Keith climbed off of him and lay beside him, angled so he could still look into his face, “A long time ago. I told you, he turned me down.”

“But if he hadn’t, you’d be dating HIM, wouldn’t you?” 

Keith blinked at him. “I—I don’t know. Lance, this was before I even MET you.” 

Lance shrugged. “I mean I get it. He’s handsome as hell and smart and kind and good at everything.”

Keith turned Lance’s head towards him, “I love YOU. There’s nothing happening—nothing going to happen or even come close to happening between me and Shiro.”

Lance smirked at him again. “I know.” He grabbed Keith’s hand and kissed it, “I told you it was stupid. I just. Sometimes it feels like he knows you better than I do.”

Keith wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It was entirely possible that Shiro DID know him better. He’d certainly known him longer. Shiro was the closest thing to family Keith really had anymore. 

Lance smirked again, and pulled Keith up to his mouth for a kiss. “I told you, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about.”

Keith rested on Lance’s chest, knowing it was still going to bother Lance. 

 

The next day, they met up with Shiro and Hunk for lunch. Lance was back to smiling, though Keith caught it slipping when he thought no one was looking. He wiped his mouth with the napkin and said, “Well, gotta get to class.” He began gathering his trash to throw out.

Keith looked at his watch. “Oh, shit. I was going to go into town today.”

“You want some company? I have some things I need to pick up too.” Shiro asked.

Lance froze for just a moment. Keith stared between the two of them, silently panicking. “Uh, sure. Hunk, do you want to come too?”

Hunk, missing all of the tension, shook his head, “Sorry, I’ve got a butt load of homework I’ve been putting off. Some other time.”

Lance went to go throw away the trash, turning away from them to hide his face. “Okay,” Keith said, trying to make this not a date with the guy his boyfriend was jealous of. “Why don’t we invite Allura to come along. She likes shopping.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow, getting a hint that something was off. “She’s at work. Is there something wrong?”

“No,” Keith said, “No, it’s…it’s fine.” 

He looked over at Lance who came back. Lance gave Keith a shrug and a small smile, leaning in to kiss Keith on the cheek. “It’s really okay.” He whispered in Keith’s ear. He waved at them all. “I’ll see you all later.”

Keith, Shiro, and Hunk cleaned up, Hunk running off to his dorm, Shiro and Keith walking off to town. “So,” Keith asked, “What do you need to pick up?”

Shiro was watching Keith, only half listening to him. “Some snacks for my room. Keith, what’s going on between you and Lance?”

Keith swallowed. “We’re dating. I thought you knew that.”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “I know you’re dating. But you both acted weird when I offered to come with you. What’s up?”

Damn. Shiro was way too observant for his own good. “It’s nothing,” he said, echoing Lance from last night, “It’s…well…Lance is kinda…jealous of you.” He wasn’t sure if it was a betrayal of trust to tell Shiro what Lance said, but he wasn’t used to keeping things from Shiro.

Shiro nodded, “So, spending time alone with me is…”

“A little awkward.” Keith said. “Or, well, it will be when I’m with Lance later.”

Shiro nodded again, “I see. He found out you asked me out?”

“It was a LONG TIME ago.” Keith said. “I mean, he knew about that for a while. He just thinks that you know me better than he does. Something about how if you had said yes, we’d be dating now and…” Keith shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t really get it.”

“I do.” Shiro said as they reached the store, “He feels like a second choice. It can hurt, especially when YOU are his first choice. He just wants to know he’s as important to you as you are to him.”

“But I TOLD him,” Keith said, “Doesn’t he trust me?”

“Of course he does,” Shiro said, looking at the various granola options on the shelves. “But it’s Lance. He’s a ball of insecurity wrapped in a bundle of immature joking and flirting.”

Keith sighed. That was certainly true. “Well, what am I supposed to do about it?”

Shiro chose a bag of trail mix. “I have no idea. Give it time, I suppose. He’ll get over it eventually.”

Keith groaned. He was not the most patient of people. “Or he won’t and it’ll be a problem forever.”

Shiro shrugged, “Well, then, show him you care.”

“How?”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “He’s your boyfriend, Keith. You know him better than I do.” Keith still looked lost. “Look, he thinks he doesn’t know you as well as I do, right? Tell him something about yourself.”

“Like what?”

“If I knew, that would kinda defeat the purpose of him knowing something about you I don’t.” Shiro went to pay for his trail mix.

Keith sighed, wracking his brain. Then, something clicked. “I think I have an idea.”

 

Keith texted Lance to meet him in his dorm room that night, which was possibly the least necessary text he’d ever sent. If Keith didn’t show up in Lance’s room, his boyfriend would have most assuredly come over to his. 

When Lance arrived, he rapped once on the door before letting himself in. Keith was sitting on the bed, lightly drumming the book on his lap to get out the nerves. “What’s that?” Lance asked.

Keith bit his lip. “Something no one, including Shiro, has seen before.” He patted the seat beside him, and Lance sat down, looking curiously at the book. “When I was sixteen, this lady at the youth center thought it’d be a good idea to gather a bunch of memories and stuff from my old foster homes to make a photo-album…scrapbook thing. I don’t know if it really helped me to feel better, but I kept it, and added to it a couple of times.”

Keith put the book between them, and opened to the first page of a woman holding a baby. “This…is me.” 

Lance wrapped an arm around Keith’s shoulders. The baby in the photo didn’t have much hair, but was chubbier than Lance would have guessed. The woman was looking down at him, with long dark curly hair, smiling and crying in her hospital gown. “Is…is that—“

“My mother.” Keith said, swallowing, “Only picture I have of her.” Lance started to tear up. Keith flipped the page. “This was the year after she died, my first day of school.”

“Is that a bowl cut?” Lance asked, looking at the small sullen child.

Keith nodded, “My first foster family was on the frugal side. I guess that’s why they decided they couldn’t afford me.”

Lance pursed his lips slightly uncomfortable, but managed to say, “I apologize for ever making fun of your mullet.”

Keith snorted and turned the page. There weren’t many pictures, but every once in a while there was a birthday or a report card. Keith would stop and explain each and every one to Lance. Lance listened with rapt attention, squeezing Keith once in a while, resting his head on his shoulder or kissing him on the cheek when the story got emotional. He didn’t say much until—

“Oh. My. God.” He said, looking at the picture in front of him, “Are you wearing eye liner?” Lance knew his boyfriend had once been a bit on the ‘emo’ side of things, but had no idea he’d embraced the title so fully, wearing black cargo pants with a chain, a black t-shirt, his mullet that he kept to this day, and—“

“Yes, that is eyeliner.” Keith sighed, “I was mostly just trying to rebel. That foster family was a bunch of assholes.” Lance snorted. “Also, I mean, come on, it’s MCR.”

Lance giggled as Keith turned the page. The rest was clearly added after he had made the initial scrapbook. Lance knew that, because he recognized the picture. Allura had them take it at the end of their first tumultuous year, when they had all become friends. Lance and Keith stood on opposite ends of their friend group, as they had still hated each other. Or, considered each other rivals, rather. 

On the opposite side of the picture was Keith’s report card. It was straight A’s. “It was the first time I’d ever managed a feat like that.” Keith said, pointing to the card.

“Really?” Lance said, “I thought you were like, a prodigy or something.”

Keith shook his head, “I mean, I was always smart, but I never behaved well enough in school to get the grades. I got into college on a track scholarship.” Keith bit his lip and looked up at Lance, “According to my counselor, all I needed was proper motivation. And I finally got it.”

Lance frowned, “What motivation?”

Keith smirked, “Competing with you.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “So, needing to BEAT me is what finally got you straight A’s? You’re welcome.”

“It’s not that simple.” Keith said, snaking his arm around Lance’s back. “We may have competed against each other, but it was…a healthy competition. You made—make—me want to do better.” Keith bit his lip, “I need you. You. Not Shiro, not anyone else.”

Keith flipped the page again. The last picture was a selfie Lance and Keith had taken together, Lance holding the camera, his arms around Keith, Keith leaning back to kiss a smiling Lance on the cheek. 

The Lance outside of the picture was tearing up, smiling at the picture of the two of them. He kissed Keith’s cheek. “You added that today, didn’t you?” Keith nodded, and Lance smirked, “You love me~” He said in a sing songy voice. 

Keith rolled his eyes. “That’s what I told you YESTERDAY. Do you finally believe me?”

Lance nodded, “Mmhmm.” He leaned in and kissed Keith on the lips.

Keith closed the book and put it on the side table. “Finally,” And launched himself at Lance.


End file.
